Willamette Week - News Storieshttp://www.wweek.com/portland/articles.sec-20-1-news_stories.html
Tue, 03 Mar 2015 00:00:00 -0700enhourly1Mack to the Future - Seattle's Macklemore is sincere, independent and huge. Is this the new face of hip-hop?http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17947-mack_to_the_future_seattles_macklemore_is_sincere_independent_and_huge_is_this_the_new_face_of_hip_h.html
“See everybody’s striving for that same shit/ To get
paid and make it/ And I’ll be honest, I’m trying to become famous”
—“Ego” (2005)
Ben Haggerty has lost his train of thought. Mom]]>Missing Misery - Ready or not, Portland gets an Elliott Smith documentary from Los Angeles.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-18112-missing_misery_ready_or_not_portland_gets_an_elliott_smith_documentary_from_los_angeles.html
Gil Reyes isn’t sure what to expect when he finally screens his 2009 film, Searching for Elliott Smith,
in Portland on Friday, eight years after the singer’s death.]]>Same As It Ever Was - OLCC rule changes have done little to help Portland’s underage music fans.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19401-same_as_it_ever_was_olcc_rule_changes_have_done_little_to_help_portlands_underage_music_fans.html
Four years ago, there was hope that Portland’s midsized
concert venues might start making room for kids. Music lovers were...]]>You’re The Best—Around! - The WW music staff picks their best albums of 2011.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-18583-youre_the_best%E2%80%94around__the_ww_music_staff_picks_their_best_albums_of_2011.html
Music Editor Casey Jarman’s top 15 local albums of the year.
This was the year Portland came face-to-face with its
blossoming, narrowly defined international reputation for “keeping it
weir]]>Bar of the Year 2013 Runner Up No. 2: Blue Diamond - http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20553-bar_of_the_year_2013_runner_up_no_2_blue_diamond_.html
It’s 9:30 on a Monday night at Blue
Diamond, and a band called Sumo is playing War’s “Spill the Wine” for a
couple dozen regulars. A pretty brunette swing dances with a guy who’s
old e]]>Progress Without Pepper Spray - How a burger baron, four indie rockers, a bleeding-heart Muslim and a group of trash tour guides are fighting for the 99%.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-18259-progress_without_pepper_spray_how_a_burger_baron_four_indie_rockers_a_bleeding_heart_muslim_and_a_gr.html
The air is hot and humid in the Portland Building’s dimly
lit second-floor auditorium. A mix of flannel-clad twentysomethings,
long-haired retirees and fussy neighborhood-watch types have filled]]>The Rise and Fall and Rise of Starfucker - http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17398-the_rise_and_fall_and_rise_of_starfucker_.html
In its infancy, Starfucker taught Portland indie-rock
audiences how to dance. In dank basements and tiny clubs all over
Portland, Josh Hodges’ explosive drum ’n’ synth one-man dance band
soun]]>Last Man Standing - Kurt Thomas would rather foul out than fade away.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19093-last_man_standing_kurt_thomas_would_rather_foul_out_than_fade_away.html
Kurt Thomas can’t compete with Blaze. The NBA’s oldest
player and his team’s mascot are representing the Trail Blazers at
Russell Academy’s rundown elementary school gymnasium in Northeast]]>I Think I Was There - An oral history of Satyricon.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-12560-i_think_i_was_there_an_oral_history_of_satyricon.html

In 1983, Portland’s Chinatown was, by all accounts, a real shithole.
Peppered with empty lots, boarded-up storefronts and dealers pushing
cocaine and heroin as casually as a grocery store clerk might ask
“paper or plastic?”—it was a part of town best avoided altogether. It was in the heart of this dubious neighborhood that George
Touhouliotis, a 36-year-old Greek immigrant and former cab driver with
a fondness for poetry and rebellious youth culture, opened an equally
dirty bar called Satyricon...

]]>Album Review: Radiation City - The Hands That Take You (Apes Tapes)http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-16978-album_review_radiation_city_the_hands_that_take_you_%28apes_tapes%29.html
[POST-WHATEVER] Moody, trip-hop-inspired indie pop. That’s what I’d call the music on Radiation City’s new full-length, The Hands That Take You.
The local trio, which]]>Album Review: Let it Rain - Portland artists cover classic Portland songs for PDX Pop Now!http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-18797-album_review_let_it_rain_portland_artists_cover_classic_portland_songs_for_pdx_pop_now_.html
[PORTLAND MUSIC] Why shouldn’t the navel-gazingest city in
the country have a compilation of its current bands covering important
bands from its past? We’ve got our own TV show, after all.&nbs]]>Do Me A Kindness - Winnebago Man searches for what's behind the myth of Jack Rebney.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-12307-do_me_a_kindness_winnebago_man_searches_for_whats_behind_the_myth_of_jack_rebney.html
Summer Guide 2012: It’s Not a Portland Summer Until You’ve... - 39 ways to stretch the next few months as far as they’ll go.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19324-summer_guide_2012_its_not_a_portland_summer_until_youve_39_ways_to_stretch_the_next_few_months_as_fa.html
Locals talk about “Portland summers” in near-spiritual
terms. There’s a reason for that. In what are supposed to be the warmer
months...]]>Winter Guide 2013: It’s Not a Portland Winter Until You’ve... - 32 ways to distract yourself during the dark days to come.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20165-winter_guide_2013_its_not_a_portland_winter_until_youve_32_ways_to_distract_yourself_during_the_dark.html
Only the strong survive Stumptown winters with all their
marbles in the bag. Even those who claim to love the rainy season know
that the gray, low-hanging clouds always transform from familiar fri]]>Album Review: Loch Lomond - Little Me Will Start A Storm (Tender Loving Empire)http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-16979-album_review_loch_lomond_little_me_will_start_a_storm_%28tender_loving_empire%29.html
[WEIRDO OPERA] In the eyes of those haggard, cynical souls
who haven’t been out to a local show in the past decade or so,
Portland’s music scene has ]]>State Of The Artistery - An important Portland all-ages venue says goodbye (and good luck).http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17148-state_of_the_artistery_an_important_portland_all_ages_venue_says_goodbye_%28and_good_luck%29.html
Five years may not seem an awfully long time, but for a
Portland all-ages music venue, it’s an eternity. So in the half-decade
that the Artistery has been open on Southeast Division Street—it ha]]>Old Boys’ Club - Shiny new Portland makes Menomena and the Helio Sequence feel very old.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19624-old_boys_club_shiny_new_portland_makes_menomena_and_the_helio_sequence_feel_very_old.html
The Helio Sequence and Menomena have a lot in common. Both
are made up of Portland-area natives (Beaverton, specifically). Both
are signed to...]]>24-Hours of Modern Warfare 3 - Six million Modern Warfare 3 fans can’t be wrong…can they?http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-18184-24_hours_of_modern_warfare_3_six_million_modern_warfare_3_fans_cant_be_wrong%E2%80%A6can_they.html
About 24 hours ago, I started playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 online in the middle of the Willamette Week
office. I have stopped for food, bathroom breaks and occasional
unescapable professio]]>Album Review: Lewi Longmire Band - Tales of the Left Coast Roasters (Self-Released)http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17637-album_review_lewi_longmire_band_tales_of_the_left_coast_roasters_%28self_released%29.html
[TRUE FOLK ROCK] Lewi Longmire has been around the block a few times. In 2008, he traced his musical “family tree” for WW
and the result was a vast spider web of connections: Longmire has
played]]>Dirty Songbirds - On the eve of Peaches’ visit, we revisit filthy sex songs for the ages.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17900-dirty_songbirds_on_the_eve_of_peaches_visit_we_revisit_filthy_sex_songs_for_the_ages.html
There’s a reason sex comes first in the trio of “sex,
drugs, and rock and roll.” Doin’ it has always been the primary thematic
interest of pop music, from Jerry Lee Lewis’ shakin’ to Tre]]>Album Review: Luck-One - True Theory (Focused Noise)http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17299-album_review_luck_one_true_theory_%28focused_noise%29.html
[HIP-HOP] Luck-One is nothing if not enthusiastic. The
MC’s bombastic excitement is understandable, considering he spent most
of the aughts in prison. And that stint also explains why, since 2009,]]>The Band That Wouldn’t Die - Critics hate it, radio won't play it, but thanks to its legion of rural and suburban fans, Floater lives on. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-12133-the_band_that_wouldnrst_die_critics_hate_it_radio_wont_play_it_but_thanks_to_its_legion_of_rural_and.html
Waiting For Brandon - As Roy prepares his return to the Blazers, fans wonder where he’ll fit.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-16985-waiting_for_brandon_as_roy_prepares_his_return_to_the_blazers_fans_wonder_where_hell_fit.html
Trail Blazer fans will probably see the return of Brandon Roy this week.
Forgive them if
they’re conflicted or can’t remember Roy playing—]]>Tex Mix - What Austin food trucks have that Portland food carts don’t.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-18954-tex_mix_what_austin_food_trucks_have_that_portland_food_carts_dont.html
The Austin food-cart scene is not all steak, tacos and
steak tacos. In fact, on my visit to what’s often considered the
nation’s No. 2 food-cart town (Portland is tops, natch), I even found a ]]>The Prince and the Queen - Liv Warfield has sung in front of 80,000 fans. She’s glad to be home. http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-18605-the_prince_and_the_queen_liv_warfield_has_sung_in_front_of_80000_fans_shes_glad_to_be_home.html
In 2006, there was no brighter shining light in Portland’s
music scene than Liv Warfield. The R&B singer could bait audiences
by laying smoky nu-soul vocal melodies over her band’s underst]]>Album Review: Pheasant - Self-Titled (Self-Released)http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-18798-album_review_pheasant_self_titled_%28self_released%29.html
[INDIE ROCK] Somewhere between And And And’s carefree,
swaggering basement pop and Typhoon’s controlled and confessional rock
operettas, Pheasant is holding its ground. The local quintet’s s]]>PDX Pop Now! Yearbook, 2012 - Getting all sentimental over this year’s eclectic PDX pop crop.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19433-pdx_pop_now__yearbook_2012_getting_all_sentimental_over_this_years_eclectic_pdx_pop_crop.html
Every year, the PDX Pop Now! festival offers a glimpse
into the music that’s moving Portland. And despite this city’s recent
reputation as a haven for confessional, tattooed singer-songwriters]]>Portland Rock Trivia - Twelve absolutely random things you didn’t know about the Portland music scene.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-19623-portland_rock_trivia_twelve_absolutely_random_things_you_didnt_know_about_the_portland_music_scene.html
1.MusicfestNW began as the bastard child of SXSW...]]>Q&A: Stephen Malkmus - The head Jick talks about moving to Berlin, the stock market and Nirvana.http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-18051-qa_stephen_malkmus_the_head_jick_talks_about_moving_to_berlin_the_stock_market_and_nirvana.html
Stephen Malkmus has done a lot of interviews in his 20-odd
years fronting Pavement and the Jicks.]]>Hotseat: Patty Mills - The Blazers’ recent run of victories has meant no playing time for one of fans’ favorite players. Is he bummed?http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17277-hotseat_patty_mills_the_blazers_recent_run_of_victories_has_meant_no_playing_time_for_one_of_fans_fa.html
When Patty Mills is on the court, he’s a pinball.
The
22-year-old Trail Blazer from Australia hoists up three-pointers without
hesitation, hurtles his body into the lane and plays hyperactive,
n]]>